Familiar Favourites
Labels: one dish meals, she cooks
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Today I decided to really test my stone-age oven that comes with the apartment. It has the impressive number of one function - supply heat from the top and bottom at various temperatures. No fan, no top grill, no bottom heat no nothing. Unlike my beloved oven I left behind in the Netherlands that did everything but place the food to be cooked inside by itself. I want to sob into my apron.
Still, it was better than nothing. At least it didn't trip the circuit breaker. Ovens not in use for an extended period of time in tropical climes tend to go wonky on account of the humidity. Therefore it is advised, even when you're not using it, to turn your oven on from time to time to get rid of any moisture trapped in there. Well no worries for us as I use my oven at least twice a week.
This evening, I made Goat's Cheese and Thyme Stuffed Chicken. I literally haven't made this in almost two years. In fact, I haven't really cooked in the past eighteen months we were in Beijing. I was a bit shaky at first but after slicing the courgette and tomatoes, I got right back in the swing of things. Everything came naturally, thank goodness.
Line the casserole dish with sliced courgette and tomatoes. Give the vegetables a few splashes of olive oil. Spread sprigs of fresh thyme all over.
Slice chicken breast in half, taking care not to go all the way through. Season with a little salt and chopped thyme on the insides before placing the goat's cheese on. Fold the chicken breast in half and secure with strips of streaky bacon. 
Place wrapped bundles on the vegetable lined casserole dish. Pop into oven (pre-heated to 200C) and cook until a beautiful golden brown. 
Lekker!
While the chicken was getting acquainted with the goat's cheese and streaky bacon in the oven, I prepared the evening's starter - Honey Melon with Parma Ham. It's easily done in a jiffy, just a matter of slicing the melon and arranging the ham as prettily as possible.
Add a bit of salad for garnishing and voilá! looks good enough to eat.
The Dutchess of Cookalot whipped this up at 9:41 am
